It’s 20 years since Eduardo Chadwick gathered some of Europe’s most famous wine writers for a blind tasting – one to rival the famous 1976 Judgement of Paris (when California proved its wines could compete with – and beat – France’s best). Chadwick was convinced that critics were underestimating Chilean wines – for no reason other than snobbery against the nation. The Berlin Tasting pitched Chadwick’s top wines (Viñedo Chadwick, Seña and Don Maximiano Founder’s Reserve) against Bordeaux’s First Growths and a lone Super Tuscan (Antinori’s Solaia). Chadwick charged the late Steven Spurrier with running the event. “I never imagined that what happened was about to happen,” Chadwick tells me. To his and everyone else’s amazement, the 2000 Viñedo Chadwick took the top spot, followed by 2001 Seña, then 2000 Ch. Lafite Rothschild, and 2000 Ch. Margaux – tied equally in fourth place with 2000 Seña. Finally, there was proof that Chile’s wines deserved a place on the world stage.  But, for Chadwick, one watershed moment wasn’t enough. He repeated the tasting, first in São Paulo, then Tokyo – and onward, hosting the same blind tasting 22 times around the world, all with similarly spectacular results for his wines. It takes nerves of steel – and a certain amount of ego – to be willing to risk repeating such a tasting, and yet Chadwick was justly rewarded. His campaign is just one way in which he has forged a path for fine, Chilean wine – with a relentless, dogged determination.  Chadwick is the fifth generation of his family to make wine in Chile. Don Maximiano Errázuriz emigrated from the Basque country and was the first to plant vines in the Aconcagua Valley in 1870. He identified the location, 100km north of Santiago, with its cool ocean breezes, hot summers and rainy winters, as perfect for growing grapes. Operating under the motto of, “from the best land, the best wine”, he planted vines in this idyllic site, near Panquehue, and built a winery – that still stands today.  Gradually, the business grew – and it became the largest vineyard in the world owned by an individual, with 1,300 hectares under vine at its peak in the late 19th century. Despite this early prosperity, Chile’s wine industry didn’t continue to thrive. There was no export market and domestic consumption (which reached up to 80 litres per capita annually) was slashed by severe taxation, while political and economic turbulence, with communist then military rule, put not just the industry, but nation, in crisis. By the early 1980s, wine was cheaper than water and around half of the nation’s vines were ripped out.  It was onto this unstable scene that Eduardo Chadwick arrived. He had initially trained as an industrial engineer before deciding to focus on wine instead, going to study in Bordeaux under the legendary oenologist Emile Peynaud. His father bought the family winery back from the banks, and Chadwick started dusting away the cobwebs, re-opening Viña Errázuriz and – armed with new, technical knowledge – made the first vintage of Don Maximiano Founder’s Reserve, the property’s flagship wine, in 1984. The operation was still rudimentary – with rauli vats (a native hardwood), no temperature control and pergola vines planted on the fertile flats – but it was an early indication of what was possible. Tasting the wine four decades later, it’s held up remarkably well – with surprising vibrancy on the nose and a chiselled, savoury profile of pure Cabernet Sauvignon.  Gradually, Chadwick invested in equipment – stainless steel tanks, modern presses and barrels – and started to plant vineyards on slopes with poorer soils. Alongside this shift, pivotal elections in 1989 saw Chile become a democracy once more – and key figures from the world of wine visited. Soon entry-level wines were being exported by the likes of Oddbins and Victoria Wine. The doors had opened for Chilean wine. Robert Mondavi visited Chadwick in 1991 – and the two men hit it off, sharing an unrelenting drive to push their industry forward, and Mondavi recognised in Chile the potential he had seen in Napa in the 1960s. He knew that his partnership with Ch. Mouton Rothschild (Opus One) had been key to changing Napa’s reputation – and the duo hoped that their own joint venture might do the same for Chile: Seña (literally meaning “signal”) was born. Bob’s son, Tim Mondavi worked with Chadwick on the project and suggested looking for a site closer to the coast in the Aconcagua Valley, in search of even greater finesse, producing the first vintage in 1995.  And Chadwick didn’t stop there. His father had purchased an estate in the Alto Maipo in 1945, home to a polo field (Eduardo’s father, Alfonso, had captained the Chilean team for years). In 1992, Chadwick convinced his father to let him transform the polo field – with its pure gravel soils and 15˚C diurnal swing – into a vineyard, feeling it was perfect for Cabernet Sauvignon. Alfonso died the following year, but the first vintage of this project – Viñedo Chadwick, named in honour of his father – was made in 1999.   Chadwick knew the wines were good – but convincing the world of that fact was the challenge. He’s clear that Chile made a major error in churning out great-value, entry-level wines – good, but not fine wines – a price-point that came to define the nation. “That’s why it was very difficult to convince the audience that we can also produce world-class wines,” says Chadwick. “Chile had no recognition. We had no ratings, no Parker points, no Suckling points.” And so he set about changing that with the Berlin Tasting.  With that event’s market-shifting results (then echoed around the world), he’d created momentum for change. A decade later, he went on to break through another boundary: the 2014 Viñedo Chadwick became the first Chilean wine to earn 100 points (from James Suckling). Just last year, the 2021 vintage was the first Chilean wine rated 100 points by the Wine Advocate. When I sat down with him March this year, it was at an event paying tribute to the two decades that have passed since the Berlin Tasting – featuring early vintages from each estate, and their greatest successes. The 1998 Seña was a particular standout – a cool vintage that today is perfumed, elegant, bright and effortlessly long. Any doubters of Chilean wine were instantly quieted. And, as with the Berlin tasting, the event was being replicated around the globe – the campaign to champion Chilean wine never ending.  When Chadwick started in 1983, Viña Errázuriz had just 10 hectares of vineyard. Today, across their estates, Chadwick farms 900 hectares of vines. He bought out his siblings years ago, when he found they were more interested in dividends than growing and investing in the business. Now three of his four daughters are working alongside him – excited by the potential of coastal sites (where they make the Las Pizarras wines) and a new sparkling project. There has been no shortage of challenges along the way, but they’ve only fuelled Chadwick’s relentless pursuit of recognition for Chile and its wines. “Where we are today is beyond my wildest dreams,” he tells me, and yet it’s only because of his tireless ambition that Chilean wine has made it to this point. Fortunately, it looks like his children have inherited his determination – ready to rule over the next chapter of this epic story.  Explore all listings of Viña Errázuriz, Seña and Viñedo Chadwick or read more about Chile 

In the last 40 years, Eduardo Chadwick has single-handedly forged a place for Chile in the fine wine arena. Two decades after the pivotal Berlin Tasting, Sophie Thorpe sat down with the man himself to explore his legacy – and what lies ahead 

20 years after the Berlin Tasting, we sit down with Eduardo Chadwick – the man that created Chile’s first icon wines, Sena, Vinedo Chadwick and Errazuriz

Championing Chile – Eduardo Chadwick

Championing Chile: Eduardo Chadwick

Barolo remains the most important region in the world for Nebbiolo. This variety is one of the world’s most sensitive and difficult to grow, rarely found outside Piedmont. While there are a handful of other high-quality enclaves across Piedmont including Valmaggiore (24km north of Barolo) and the cooler sites of Gattinara and Ghemme – collectively known as Alto Piedmont (or Alto Piemonte), nowhere else matches Barolo and neighbouring Barbaresco for complexity and ageing potential.  The wines are typically pale ruby in colour with grippy tannins, high acidity and a flavour profile of red cherry, mulberry, camphor and rose petal. The grape’s almost transparent character (similar to Pinot Noir) makes it a great transmitter of terroir – producing many nuanced styles, flavours and aromas – from the most delicate and floral to the most structured and mineral, and everywhere in between. It is this complex variety within such a small region that makes the grape, and the varying communes of Barolo, so interesting. Barolo has a cooler microclimate compared to nearby Barbaresco, resulting in a longer ripening season. While this means it is more sensitive to vintage variation, in the best years the wines reach highs unmatched anywhere else. Dry Barolo has been produced in the region since the mid-1800s. A wine that was a favourite amongst the aristocratic families of the Savoy dynasty, it is thought to have been first produced in this style by King Carlo Alberto’s estate in nearby Pollenzo. The aristocracy bankrolled wine production in Barolo, helping the pioneering winemakers at the time – such as Staglieno and the French oenologist Oudart – improve the quality and reputation of the wines. Their aristocratic link earned Barolo the nickname “the king of wines and the wine of kings”. Understanding the variety of styles of Barolo to a large extent depends upon where the grapes are grown. The landscape of Barolo is made up of many small undulating hillsides where exposition, topography and altitude all play important roles in the final character of a wine made in a specific part of the region or vineyard. Historically the sub-regions were not so important, largely due to the fact that Barolo wines existed exclusively as blends of fruit from across the region (often including grapes from the vineyards of Barbaresco). The 1961 vintage, however, represents a significant turning point when both Prunotto and Vietti released single-vineyard Barolos from Barolo Bussia and Rocche di Castiglione. While it was common knowledge amongst the local grape brokers which parts of the valley produced the best Nebbiolo, it wasn’t until the 1970s when these place names first came to print in Luigi Veronelli’s map. At the most basic level Barolo is divided into two valleys: the Central Valley and the Serralunga Valley. The Central Valley – including sub-regions of La Morra, Barolo and Novello – produce a more approachable style, noted for their fragrance and elegance, thought to be due to the distinct blue-grey marl content in the Tortonian soils found in these vineyards. The Serralunga Valley – with its sub-regions of Serralunga d’Alba and Monforte d’Alba – tend to create more powerful, tannic, concentrated wines due to the higher content of clay, limestone and sandstone found in the Serravalian soils. In Castiglione Falletto there is a richer concentration of sandstone and this is generally thought to produce a middle ground between the more structured character of the Serravalian soils and the elegance brought about by the Tortonian soils.  While these variations in soil throughout the sub-regions play some part in the differences in the structure and flavour profile of different Barolos, this is just one factor and should be understood as broad generalisations. The complex terroirs are defined not just by the soils, but by the varying expositions, altitudes, viticutural techniques, clones, pruning and winemaking methods which vary from estate to estate – making it impossible to provide a completely definitive profile of each area.    
A guide to Barolo's communes  There are 11 village communes within the Barolo DOCG: La Morra, Barolo, Castiglione Falletto, Serralunga d’Alba, Cherasco, Diano d’Alba, Grinzane Cavour, Monforte d’Alba, Novello, Roddi and Verduno. Below you’ll find a guide to the distinctive style of the main communes, as well as the best growers from each.  La Morra Wines from La Morra can be some of the most perfumed Barolo, typically with soft, smooth tannins. It is believed that the fine sandy soil of the region is behind the wines’ elegance. As the largest Barolo subregion, however, La Morra is the most diverse both in style and quality. Typically, these wines can be much more approachable in youth and tend to fair better in cooler vintages. Top producers in the region include Roberto Voerzio – who makes a unique style for the region, with strict pruning leading to miniscule yields and austere, tannic wines with long ageing potential. Poderi Oddero is more typical for the commune, producing bright, fruity Barolos with distinctly elegant tannins. Elio Altare is known for more modern-style Barolos which are matured both in traditional large barrels, as well as smaller barriques, and some new oak for their single-vineyard wines. Top vineyards: Brunate, Cerequio, Rocche dell’Annunziata Barolo Similar to La Morra, the Barolo sub-region produces broad, open, velvety Barolo but often with a bit more structure and concentration than those from La Morra. The region is home to some of the most historic sites, including Cannubi – a Cru that was singled out as an exceptional site even before the creation of the Barolo appellation (with the earliest bottled example of this site dating back to 1752). It is also home to some of the most respected producers in the region, who make markedly different styles of Barolo – further confirming that location is only part of the puzzle. Fierce traditionalists Bartolo Mascarello famously don’t make single-vineyard wines but their blended Barolo remains one of the region’s finest. Guiseppe Rinaldi’s winery is also staunchly traditional in their winemaking, seeing cross-commune blends as the ultimate expression of Barolo. winery is also staunchly traditional both in their winemaking, and blending of vineyards, seeing cross-commune blends as the ultimate expression of Barolo. Luciano Sandrone is more modern in style, the wines made in an elegant style that is more approachable in youth but also offers fantastic ageing potential – making them some of the region’s most collectable. Top vineyards: Cannubi, Ravera, Bricco delle Viole Castiglione Falletto  Although situated in the Serralunga valley, Castiglione Falletto falls somewhere in the middle between the elegant and fragrant qualities of La Morra and Barolo, and the boldness and concentration of Serralunga and Monforte. This is due to the aspect of the best slopes here, where the vines have maximum exposure to the sun, meaning riper fruit and added concentration. Giuseppe Mascarello produces one of Barolo’s most famous single-vineyard wines from the Monprivato Cru. Traditional in style, the wine is fermented in tank and aged in large oak. Vietti – a true pioneer of single-Cru Barolos – is also based here, as it has been since the 1800s. This estate has not only some of the best label designs in the world, but access to some of the finest Crus in Barolo, including Ravera, Rocche di Castiglione and Brunate. Top vineyards: Rocche di Castiglione, Fiasco, Villero Serralunga d’Alba  Serralunga is defined by its high concentration of Sant’Agata soils. Growers here talk about the vines feeling pain, as the harder soils put more stress on the vine, producing wines of great depth and power – as well as some of the highest tannin levels and the most full-bodied Barolos of any region. The wines can often have a distinctive bitter orange aroma. The wines are solid and typically austere, but can also be incredibly elegant and expressive, some of the most terroir-driven and long-lasting Barolo. By far the most famous and revered wine from Serralunga is Giacomo Conterno’s Monfortino. Monfortino was in fact the first ever producer-named Barolo made in the Riserva style, with the first vintage made in the 1920s (today it comes from the Cascina Francia Cru). Although based in Barbaresco, Bruno Giacosa produces two of Barolo’s most revered wines from the Serralunga Cru of Falletto, released only in top vintages. These are two of the most consistent expressions of top single-vineyard Nebbiolo in Barolo. Top vineyards: Cascina Francia, Falletto, Ornato Monforte d’Alba Defined by concentration and structure, the soils in Monforte d’Alba contain more clay than limestone – the opposite of Serralunga. The resulting wines tend to have more volume on the palate and boldness, making them the most concentrated Barolos. The wines exhibit classic rose petal, clay pot, clove, camphor and cardamom aromas, and particularly bold tannins. Look out for bottlings from Elio Grasso whose Case Matè Barolo comes from Ginestra. Bussia is one of the most famous, but also largest Crus, producing many different styles. The best part of the vineyard is Upper Bussia; a natural amphitheatre with varying expositions, when combined it produces wines of fantastic complexity. For the ultimate insight into the vineyard, try the wines of Aldo Conterno – who makes five separate bottlings all from the Bussia Cru. Top vineyards: Bussia, Ginestra, Mosconi Browse all Barolo or read more Editorial 

Age-worthy yet terroir transparent, Barolo is a fascinating region. Its complex, varied terroir often draws comparisons with Burgundy. Here we delve into “the king of wines and wine of kings” – from its aristocratic beginnings to the villages, vineyards and producers to look out for.


Your guide to “the king of wines and wine of kings” – Barolo: from its aristocratic beginnings to the villages, vineyards and producers to look out for.

Your definitive guide to Barolo 

When a red blend from Chile became the first wine from outside Bordeaux to be offered on La Place in 1998, it no doubt ruffled a few feathers. Could the New World, let alone South America, ever rival the quality of wines being made in Bordeaux? In the late 1990s, the answer was frankly no. Today, however, the fine wine market is keeping its eye on Chile’s leading estates with good reason. Not because they can rival Bordeaux in style, but because Chile’s winemakers are defining a style all of their own and discovering the potential of their top terroirs.  Gone are the days of overripe fruit, heavy-handed oak and 15% alcohol wines which dominated the scene during the height of Robert Parker’s influence in the early 2000s. Today vintners are focusing on making chiselled and elegant reds, as a result of much earlier harvesting and more restraint in the cellar – but, most importantly, these wines are all about balancing the freshness and nuance of their mountain terrains with the vibrant fruit profile and fine tannins these sunny lands offer. In the past decade, thousands of soil pits have been dug across Chile’s wine regions as winemakers get under the skin of their Chilean DNA — an endeavour well worth the effort as recent vintages show. Here are the regions at the forefront today.  Alto Maipo  It’s no coincidence that Château Mouton Rothschild’s Chilean venture with Concha y Toro, Almaviva in Alto Maipo, was the first non-Bordeaux wine to reach La Place. Maipo had been at the heart of Chile’s great Bordeaux imitation game since the 19th century, and on paper, Alto Maipo has a lot in common with Bordeaux: the same red varieties planted on similar gravels of river terraces.    Today, however, the best wines – including Almaviva and Viñedo Chadwick – focus on what makes Alto Maipo Cabernet Sauvignon and blends distinctive. In high-altitude Puente Alto in particular, the purity of the Andean sunlight at over 700 metres’ altitude offers a flamboyance of cassis and blackcurrant aromas, while cool mountain nights revive the grapes, giving the wines tension, filigree tannins and fragrant wild herb aromas. It’s this seductive combination which marks Alto Maipo as a Grand Cru of Chile.  Aconcagua  Further north, the Chadwick family has been making bold wines from valley floor vineyards in the warm Mediterranean climate of Aconcagua for over a century. Since the 1990s, however, they have been planting on the slopes and the more interesting colluvial soils found in the Andes foothills and towards the coastal mountain range.  Their iconic Seña blend, which originated as a collaboration with Robert Mondavi in 1995, has become increasingly refined under the hand of Chilean winemaker Francisco Beattig in recent vintages. Select plots of mainly Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec are synthesised into a balanced wine of 13.5% which prioritises harmony over power and carries graphite, cedar and blackberry aromas, trademarks of contemporary Aconcagua wines.  Apalta  One of Chile’s few DOs reflecting a place rather than a political region, the hill of Apalta has become world-renowned as one of the country’s best terroirs, with some of the best-known estates in Chile. Lapostolle, the biodynamic estate of the Bournet Lapostolle family, has been instrumental in developing the reputation and character of Apalta wines.  The key to Apalta today, and their iconic Clos Apalta property is the unique microclimate and kaleidoscopic palate of profiles the winemaker can draw from on this diverse hill site in Colchagua – from rich old-vine Cabernet Sauvignon on the clay soils of the valley floor, to the linear Merlot and peppery Carménère from Apalta’s southeast-facing granite slopes. These complex blends with black cherry and black pepper aromas, a full body and silky finish have become highly sought-after trademarks of Apalta wines today.  Chile’s winemakers are increasingly site-specific in their quest to show the potential of their unique country, with new and exciting vineyards being planted from the limestone-encrusted soils on the coast of the Atacama Desert down to the volcanic slopes of Osorno in Chilean Patagonia. And while there are no doubt many more Grands Crus in the making in Chile, those that have risen to the fore in the fine wine market today show precision, focus and a far greater self-understanding and appreciation than ever before.  Explore all current Chilean wine listings or read more Editorial 

Chile’s most iconic wines have come a long way in the last decade. With producers increasingly focusing on expressing site rather than creating a particular style, a handful of areas are emerging as the country’s Grands Crus, as Amanda Barnes reveals

Chile’s most iconic wines have come a long way in the last decade. We explore the region and producers such as Clos Apalta, Almaviva, Chadwick and more

Chile's Grand Cru wines explained

Chile's Grands Crus explained

For the aperitif For Domaine Long-Depaquit’s Matthieu Mangenot it is the energy and power of Champagne Brut Nature Les Marnes Blanches from Jeaunaux-Robin, that makes it his choice at Christmas. “I can't say for sure if it is the 100% Chardonnay selection or the very elegant vinification in Burgundy barrel that is this Champagne’s (hidden) tribute to our region but there is absolutely no ‘make up‘ with this Champagne. With no dosage it is a true expression of Chardonnay and terroir. To me, it is the best sparkling to get you ready for Christmas dinner!”  Klaus-Peter Keller (Weingut Keller) and his family love Champagne Bérèche & Fils or Krug, “but we will definitely enjoy some sparkling wines from Germany too!” he adds. Gianlorenzo di Neri from Montalcino’s Casanova di Neri is also choosing something local, with a 2002 Trentodoc – Giulio Ferrari Riserva del Fondatore, as well as a family favourite, Champagne Egly-Ouriet’s Blanc de Noirs. Saskia de Rothschild (Ch. Lafite-Rothschild) breaks the mould and prefers to drink ice-cold Sauternes as an aperitif rather than sparkling wine. She is still toying on whether to go young or old, deciding between a 2017, an 2007 or 1989 from Ch. Rieussec. The whites White Burgundy seems the overwhelmingly popular choice for the Christmas table. Francisco Baettig (Viña Errázuriz, Viñedo Chadwick and Baettig wines) opting for a bottle of Pulingy-Montrachet Les Combettes from Etienne Sauzet. “I love the elegance and balance of this appellation, and the purity of the wines from this producer.” Neri is saving his last bottle of 2005 Bourgogne Blanc by Coche-Dury alongside a 1991 Terlano Rarita, a Pinot Bianco blend released 25 years after it was made, proving the incredible ageing potential of top whites from Alto Adige. Mangenot has also opted for a rarity for the special day – a magnum of 2012 Nuits-Saint-Georges Blanc from Château-Gris (Albert Bichot). Chardonnay accounts for just 2% of the Nuits-Saint-Georges appellation. “The wine has a lot of richness and a beautiful tension due to the altitude of the vineyards,” says Mangenot: he is pairing it with cod fillet and citrus cream. Keller is bucking the trend and unsurprisingly opting for dry Rieslings, specifically from the 1990s, along with an eagerly awaited bottle of 1959 Mosel Piesporter Schubertslay. In 2008, Keller (although based in Rheinhessen) took over 0.7 hectares of this incredibly steep slope in the Mosel and he is using his Christmas dinner to do some research on this Mosel site with some serious bottle age. The reds Keller is not holding back on the reds: he’s got a 1966 Ch. la Mission Haut-Brion and a 1991 Clos de la Roche Grand Cru from Hubert Lignier lined up. Gianlorenzo di Neri is also opting for a Clos de la Roche, although his is a 2006 from Armand Rousseau. At the Neri household they love to compare Grand Cru Burgundy with their Brunellos, “It should be amazing to taste our 2006 Tenuta Nuova alongside.” Beyond Brunello and Burgundy, they will also be enjoying some top Nebbiolo, but it’s not an easy choice. “For Barolo we love so many producers, Elio Grasso’s Runcot – 2008 should be delicious now – or possibly Giacosa’s 2007 Barbaresco Asili Riserva.” For Mangenot, “The middle of winter is a good period to open a bottle of sunshine like Cornas Vin Noir 2012 from Domaine du Tunnel (my wife loves it!) – concentration, density, beautiful complexity, silky tannins… And a bunch of aromas that turns your dinner into a summer journey in a convertible car with your nose in the wind!” Beattig is also opting for Northern Rhône Syrah from his favourite producer Pierre Gonon, a Saint-Joseph. “I love the complexity of aromas, the spiciness. The structure of the wine, but at the same time the polished tannins. The mix of freshness, complexity and depth... love it.” At the Rothschild household it will of course be Lafite: “1988 or/and 1996: two absolute favourites of mine these days,” Saskia explains. “The 1988 is pure Lafite, extremely complex and evolving and the ’96, thanks to its perfect balance, is just so easy to drink that you’ll finish the bottle without even noticing it.” Jean-Guillaume Prats (CEO of Domaines Barons de Rothschild Lafite) is staying pretty loyal too, opting for Pomerol’s Ch. l’Evangile 2010. To finish Finally the sweets and fortifieds: there is never a better time to open aged Ports to go with the cheese and desserts of Christmas. For Lafite’s Jean-Guillaume Prats it will be Dow’s 1977 – in his words, “perfection”. Mangenot is also going for Vintage Port: Graham’s Quinta dos Malvedos 2001, “to go with a homemade chocolate mousse, and the rest of the bottle definitely to enjoy slowly by the fire with the family… Fruits, flowers, creamy character, it is a treat for the nose and the palate I wouldn't miss it at any price.” Keller decides on the sweet wines more spontaneously: “One of our favorite combinations is matching 40 and 50-year-old Ausleses with game dishes. It can taste so great. The anticipation is already great.” If fortifieds are not your thing, then take Jean-Sébastien Philippe of Lafite’s recommendation: he’ll be having a glass (or two) of Cognac de Lafite Très Vieille Réserve. He believes it is one of the most astonishing selections of old eaux-de-vies in Cognac. Browse our full range

There’s no better time than Christmas to open a treasured bottle or two. Ahead of the big day, we asked a handful of our favourite winemakers – from Saskia de Rothschild to Klaus-Peter Keller – to tell us what they’ll be uncorking

We find out the special bottles some of our favourite winemakers and distillers are uncorking this Christmas

What winemakers are drinking this Christmas

We talk to Europe’s leading glassmakers from the 250-year-old Austrian family-run firm Riedel to the young dynamo behind Grassl, which launched in 2018. We also speak
to Jancis Robinson MW on her recent collaboration with British designer and master craftsman Richard Brendon, who explains that traditional glass types have long been in desperate need of modernisation. Legend has it that Marie Antoinette’s breasts provided the outline for the creation of the
coupe, the shallow-bowled champagne glass that graced the lips of Hollywood’s starlets during the Golden Age, and enjoyed regular appearances in episodes of Mad Men. When it comes to wine glasses, aesthetics has historically taken precedence but functionality has risen to the top of the priority list.  Wine has long suffered an injustice at its final destination whether it’s champagne, sherry or claret. Designer Richard Brendon recalls his first meeting with Master of Wine, Jancis Robinson. “She said she’d never understood why white wine was put in a smaller glass than red wine and described this as discrimination. Champagne producers hate flutes because they don’t allow for any of the aromatics to get out of the wine, likewise Sherry and Port producers don’t like the small glasses that their wine traditionally gets put in.” There are a growing number of glass companies aiming to redress the balance. And, in the
same way as every winemaker in Burgundy has his or her own particular way of producing the perfect Pinot Noir, every glassmaker has a view to crafting the most suitable vessel in which to pour it.  Austrian-based Riedel has gone down the route of a glass particular to a variety from Chardonnay to Zinfandel while Brendon has followed Robinson’s one-size-fits-all advice.  “Jancis was entirely confident that we could create one glass that worked perfectly for every style of wine,” says Brendon” but we also needed two decanters to ensure we have a collection that works for every wine.”  With 40 years of experience tasting wine, Robinson set out the specific parameters for her ideal glass. “The widest part of the glass should be exactly 125ml or one-sixth of a bottle. This would mean when a standard pour is served, the wine will have maximum surface area, allowing for all of the aroma to get out of the wine,” he says.  “Jancis wanted a nice tall bowl to allow for the wine to be swirled in the glass to get more of the aromas out of the wine, and that the opening of the glass should be as small as possible to trap the aromas of the wine, but still big enough for even the largest of noses! The thickness of the rim was of utmost importance, she wanted it to be gossamer-thin so that you hardly notice the glass when taking a sip. “ Gossamer-thin is an apt descriptor for Zalto’s glassware, particularly the elegant, fine stems
that induce a certain nervousness in the holder. It’s a far cry from the heavy cut-crystal glasses that adorned the dining tables of previous generations. Daniel Primack of Zalto’s UK importer WineRackd admits such delicacy can be a concern initially but “with perfect balance in the hand and such fine construction, you may worry that you’re going to break them just by drinking from them but fear not,” he says.  “They are mouth-blown and cooled very slowly making them incomparably tough for something so fine. Zalto’s own recipe of the three main ingredients for creating crystal, silica, soda (sodium carbonate) or potash (potassium carbonate) and lime (calcium oxide) also contribute to the clarity and durability. They are blown differently to other Austrian glasses, with the bowl and stem formed as one piece, then the foot attached. A more usual arrangement is for the stem to be glued to the bowl. Remember the attachment point is a weak point” Staying in Austria, Riedel is perhaps the country’s most famous glassmaker in the wine world, producing an impressive 60 million glasses annually at its three factories. The 250-year-old company now uses machines to make 95% of its glasses. The company’s UK managing director Stephen McGraw says “we can produce machine-made glasses which are almost indistinguishable from handmade glasses.  However handmade glasses are still very important to us, as we preserve a skill which is still recognisable to the techniques used in Roman times. In terms of machine-made versus handmade? The glasses will all perform equally well, from a sensory point of view.” He adds that its unusually shaped decanters are a different matter: master glassmakers, who tend to have around 15 years of experience to be at the top of their game, can only make these intricate objects.  A much more recent addition to the glass scene is Swiss brand Grassl, which launched in
2018.  Founder and wine collector Alexander Mackh, who is just 26 years old, explains its conception. “I launched Grassl Glass because I didn’t enjoy the proportions of the glassware on the market. Finer, deeper, less-extracted, less-oaked wine [styles] require different glassware, so I decided to create my own.”  Prototypes in hand, Mackh tested the glasses on some of Burgundy's top winemakers as well as heading to the finest names in Bordeaux including Châteaux Ausone and Palmer. Tweaks were made accordingly and now the Slovakian-blown artisanal glasses can be found as far afield as South Korea and Australia.  
What is the magic number?  While Brendon and Robinson have created just one wine glass, Grassl’s magic number is four. The designs include Liberté, which is ideal for medium to low acidity white wines, which are oak aged and 1855, a glass for reds high in tannin, richness and alcohol. If push comes to shove, Mackh says “If you wanted just one glass that does the job, it would be the Liberté as an objective tool for tasting." Riedel is known for its varietal-specific glasses and there are myriad options but there has to
be genuine rationale behind a new style. “A glass designed for a specific wine must show that wine better than any other, non-specific glass would,” says McGraw before explaining the ongoing process that shapes its bowls. “We design and test our glasses together with winemakers. Through a series of tasting workshops, we fine-tune and hone the shapes of our glasses until the winemaker tells us that the glass is showing his wine correctly. Further, after a glass is designed and in production, we do continuous testing and tasting workshops to ensure that the glass is as relevant still as the day it was first designed.” However, there’s no need to be rigid in what you pour in the grape-specific glasses. Riedel has a glass, for example, that suits rosé Champagne, Nebbiolo and New World Pinot
Noir. You certainly won’t go to wine hell if you also use it for a glass of Chardonnay. Primack agrees: “The names are simply a guide to identifying the bowl. They were named this way as 15 years ago, it was the convention to use a wine name. Today, Zalto stress it is not a prescription for the contents. For example, many people appreciate certain styles of White Burgundy in the Bordeaux bowl. This has been proven time and time again”.  Function has now won over form in the wine glass arena but that’s not at the expense of beauty. The bedazzling array of aesthetically appealing wine glasses provides a tactile experience for both your hands and lips. Wine is delivered to our senses as the winemaker intended and that means it has never tasted so good. Explore more Editorial 

Fine wine demands the perfect glass to provide the ultimate sensory experience but the resting place of the final pour has long been neglected. But it’s all change.  

Fine wine demands the perfect glass to provide the ultimate sensory experience. We speak to Riedel Europe’s leading glass makers and British craftsmen

Fine wine glasses versus aesthetics

Olivier Humbrecht was in London earlier this year giving a masterclass on single-vineyard Pinot Gris from Alsace. His motivation and his love for dry Pinot Gris evolves around the varietal being the greatest transmitter of terroir, much more so than its more famous sibling Riesling whose natural aromatics can conceal its terroir blueprint. Of course that was just the starting point of the masterclass and it quickly evolved into a much more in-depth conversation on the virtues of singular plots and the underpinning concepts of fine wine. We caught up with him to get further insight into his pioneering approach in viticulture which is being adopted by some of the finest wine producers in the world. The changing fortunes of Pinot Gris Humbrecht is a strong believer in the potential of Pinot Gris, a varietal that has ebbed and flowed in popularity through the last century. It is a varietal that due to its rather neutral primary attributes means it is perhaps more than any other grape, at the throes of its maker.  Styles vary greatly from the high-yielding neutral, phenolic, early picked and refreshing Pinot Grigio synonymous with northern Italy. At its worst, the variety produces a wine of almost no character and no sense of place. At its best, the dry, vibrant Pinot Grigio from Alto Adige can be fantastically intense, mineral and refreshing, whilst remaining fairly neutral on the palate. Pinot Grigio Romato styles in Friuli (a skin contact rose style) offer more flavor definition and
richness whilst at the same time being distinctly phenolic with vibrant acidity and a bitter bite keeping the wine refreshing and uniquely Italian in character.  The Pinot Gris of Alsace is typically later picked and completely different to the Italian style in its flavor profile, taking on a distinct honeysuckle, musk, smoky, toasty quality. Even within Alsace, this varietal has many faces. In the 1960s Olivier reminds us that Pinot Gris from Alsace was the most popular and most expensive wine in the region, but also the rarest and typically very sweet, as it is prone to noble rot resulting in intensely rich, opulent wines. In 1990 just 2% of the vineyards in Alsace were planted with Pinot Gris, today it is up to 15%. But Pinot Gris is not an easy grape to get right and whilst the early picked, neutral style of Northern Italy can crop at high levels with little issue, to make Pinot Gris with more aromatic character is much more difficult to get right and therefore becomes a much less reliable crop and accounts for the small amounts grown in Alsace. It is a varietal very prone to rot due to its thin skin. In ideal conditions, this makes it ideal for noble rot but in less than perfect conditions grey rot is more common making the grapes not suitable for fine wine. The rot will often result in aborted fermentation.  The varietal is also very quick to ripen. If not picked in a very small picking window, the alcohols could shoot up too high making a healthy fermentation very difficult and, more often than not, leading to high levels of residual sugar in the wine, whether you want it or not. Olivier outlines that just taking a weekend off during harvest could amount to a potential 1.5% abv increase when returning to the vines on Monday morning. In under a week, the potential alcohol could have gone up by 3% abv.  Picking the wines too early also has its problems. All the flavor and aromas in the varietal develop at the final stages of ripening, picking early will produce wines with little complexity and character. This tricky little grape is no doubt the reason why so little was planted in the region despite the popularity of the top Pinot Gris sweet wines. The recent increase in plantings in Alsace however has not been brilliantly successful. For Olivier too much Pinot Gris has been planted in inadequate sites and using higher yielding commercial clones. For Olivier, top Pinot Gris from Alsace must come from the traditional petit grains clone that is naturally low-yielding. Olivier likes each vine to produce just 2 clusters producing just 25-30 hectolitres per hectare. These cropping levels are necessary to produce fine wine examples from the grape. Olivier’s interest in Pinot Gris is down to its relatively neutral character making it a great transmitter of terroir, more so than Riesling whose natural aromatic presence can conceal terroir characters. Fairly neutral flavour characters also mean it remains very much a winemaker’s wine, as the vigneron can determine the style of the wine with lees work, oak maturation, and the retention of malolactic fermentation, providing the grapes come in clean, free of rot. Olivier believes élevage on full lees makes a very important difference to the flavor of the wine. The lees nourish the wine through ageing, producing a much more complex
flavour profile. It brings a smokiness and toasty character to the wine as well as a more reductive “mineral” character. Global warming It is rare to hear a vigneron say that global warming has improved the quality of their
wines, but Olivier honestly states that, for the moment, global warming has benefited his wines. What it has done is bring flowering forward, possibly up to three weeks earlier which shunts all the growing season forward, this means the all-important veraison period (sugar concentration in the grapes) is beginning to happen three weeks earlier.  Rather than waiting for grapes to ripen in September as the days are getting shorter and the weather much less reliable, veraison is now happening at the height of the summer enabling the wines to reach optimum ripeness quicker preventing the onset of rot – which in poorer weather becomes a lot more common.  Biodynamic since 1998, Olivier has seen a really positive effect in the vineyard. The grapes are able to ripen faster, reaching physiological ripeness quicker, which enables Olivier to make dry Pinot Gris packed with flavor. This, he believes, is because chemical applications shock the vines, causing them to shut down for a number of days following the application. If you continue to spray chemical applications throughout the growing season, each time this happens the vine shuts down and you lose valuable days of ripening.  Under biodynamic principles, the vines don’t go through these shock / shutting-down
phases. This allows Olivier to pick earlier and he is the first to harvest the Pinot Gris compared to his neighbours. This he believes is largely due to his grapes ripening faster, due to his viticultural techniques.  It means he can get his wines to reach aromatic complexity whilst still being able to bring them in early enough free of rot and therefore enabling a fermentation to dryness. The reason for Olivier's interest in producing dry styles of Pinot Gris is so he can show off the terroir characteristics of each of his sites without being concealed by sweetness. Tasting the different vineyards shows just how different each of the sites is and only further promotes Pinot Gris as the ultimate transmitter of terroir. A pioneer of modern-day viticulture Speaking with top viticulturalists all over the world, you realise a huge amount of their knowledge stems from Olivier Humbrecht, whose understanding of managing vine growth originated from a university lecture he attended in the 1980s, given not by a viticulturist, but a plant physiologist.  From this lecture, Olivier understood that modern-day hedging techniques in the vineyard were really detrimental to fruit production. Olivier explains the domesticated vine goes through two very different stages in its growth period. Stage one is the phase of cellular multiplication i.e. the growth of the vine – flowering, budding, leaf production etc. Stage two is the nourishment phase in which the vine stops growing and instead starts to nourish the pips in the grapes, to promote future cellular growth when the seeds are dispersed.  The problem with modern hedging techniques is that it disturbs stage one when the vine is
on the verge of moving to stage two, therefore encouraging the vine to carry out stage one and two at the same time, meaning the grape isn’t getting full nourishment at the period of veraison as some of the vine’s energy is going into vine growth. The key for Olivier is to get stage two to follow on from stage one rather than the vines trying to do both at the same time. Preventing canopy growth, however, requires a lot more manual work. Olivier states it
requires 20 men to tie up the vines manually compared to one tractor hedging the vines. One possible solution could be to hedge the vines earlier in the growth phase so as not to disrupt the vine later in the season switching from stage 1 to stage 2 but Olivier explains this is not a good approach. Tartaric acid is key to any white wine, and it is the necessary backbone to any wine.  Tartaric acid is produced by the leaves. Olivier emphasizes that many people wrongly
think leaves only create sugar through photosynthesis, but they are necessary for producing a whole array of essential nutrients, hormones and the all-important production of tartaric acid. The secret lies in extended canopy growth. I said to Olivier this sounds exactly what Lalou
Bize Leroy does in Burgundy and he admits that he visited her years ago and told her his ideas on canopy management and she clearly took his advice. Whilst it is incredibly high maintenance and an expensive operation, two of the world’s leading winemakers Humbrecht and Leroy are advocates of the system and that should be enough for any vigneron to at least consider the technique, despite the additional costs it entails.  The single vineyards Rotenburg The Rotenburg vineyard is a cooler north-facing slope facing the Vogues mountains. Made up of red marl on a limestone bedrock with very shallow brick colour soil (containing high iron content). All this amounts to slower ripening, naturally lower vigour and tiny yields. Olivier typically crops at 25 hectolitres per hectare. Olivier states what is great about this vineyard when made in the dry style, the effect of the limestone really comes through on the palate. Tasting through the 2017, ’16 and ’13 the wines share a wonderful aromatic complexity.
Easily the most floral and perfumed of the three vineyards. There is a wonderful chalky minerality to the wine, almost top quality Chablis but with a softer texture and more perfumed. With age, the aromas and flavours only further develop whilst retaining a wonderful intensity. The wine remains very clean despite its age, showing very little tertiary
development just lovely orange rind and honeysuckle notes. The chalky limestone
minerality brings sharp focus and intensity to the finish. Clos Windsbuhl The first vintage for Zind Humbrecht on this site was the 1988 vintage. Another limestone/
clay site overlooking the church of Sainte Hune (famous for the Trimbach’s Clos Sainte Hune cuvee). Facing south, south-east with a steep slope between 15 – 40% this is a high altitude site at 350 metres. A 6.5 hectares site planted mostly to Pinot Gris. Due to the
altitude and soil the grapes ripens very slowly, often on the precipice of reaching ripeness before the wine gets affected by noble rot.  Tasting through the ’17, ’16 and ’13 what is immediate in the comparison is how the wine
develops with age. At just three years of age, the wine remains compact, at seven years of age it is incredibly complex on the palate. The primary notes have retained their zesty vivacity but the flavours become broad from russet apple, manuka honey and sultanas and a wonderful salinity and stony minerality on the finish. The wine becomes more and more focused on the finish. Clearly, the wine is affected by vintage too. The ’16 is a more difficult vintage making the wine a lot less intense than the ’17 and the ’13 but throughout the lineup, the salinity and stony minerality comes through on the palate – a distinct characteristic
of the limestone soil. Rangen de Thann Unlike Rotenburg and Clos Windsbuhl, Rangen de Thann is made up of volcanic soil, very
dark basalt rock, rich in magnesium and potassium and low in calcium so lower acidity, higher pH. The slope is the steepest in Alsace with a 41-degree slope. The vineyard has an incredibly high vine density at 10,000 vines per hectare. It is in fact one of the warmer regions of Alsace therefore you would expect it to be one of the first to ripen, but the cold wind that flows through the valley slows the ripening making it the last vineyard Oliver harvests. This is typically the lowest-yielding site at Zind Humbrecht at 20 – 30 hectolitres per hectare. The volcanic soil offers a completely different blueprint to the wine. Texturally the wine is much more oily and rich. The flavours are more pumice stone, peppery, matcha tea and then this distinct Brazil nut flavor. There are no tropical notes at all in its youth and very much more savoury in style. With age the ’13 vintage shows more tropical notes, the texture becomes unctuous in its oiliness, it feels like there is sweetness despite being a dry wine. These wines lack the vibrancy from the limestone but offer more richness, texture and darker fruit and savoury flavour profile. Explore more Editorial

Meeting with Olivier Humbrecht is always an insightful experience. Not only is he incredibly
erudite in his approach to viticulture and winemaking but he has the rare talent of being able to communicate fairly complex ideas around the subject in a very clear and digestible manner. 

An insight into Olivier Humbrecht's pioneering biodynamic approach to viticulture that is now widely adopted by many of the world's fine wine producers 

Olivier Humbrecht, a genius of wine

Olivier Humbrecht: A genius of wine

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